1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of refrigerated display cases and in particular relates to a device for facilitating attachment and removal of the door handle from the door frame.
2. The Prior Art
Typically, refrigerated cabinet doors of the prior art included two or more panes of glass mounted in a metallic door frame member. The door frame member typically consists of a metallic extrusion of U-shaped cross section. The panes of glass are held between the tips of the U, and the handle is attached to one of the side flanges of the extrusion. To preserve the attractive appearance of the door, it is known to provide the surface of the handle which lies against the door frame with a tapped hole and to attach the handle to the frame by a screw extending from inside the U-shaped channel, through a clearance hole in its side flange, and into the tapped hole in the door handle.
This construction has a disadvantage in that the head of the screw that holds the handle is inside the door frame is thus inaccessible after the door has been assembled. To relieve this difficulty, it is known to provide an access hole in the side flange opposite the handle for insertion of a screwdriver or Allan wrench.
It is known in the art to provide a decorative trim strip on the front surface of the door frame, which typically extends also between the handle and the door frame. It is sometimes necessary to remove the door handle to install or replace this decorative trim.
It is also known in the art to provide the door frame with an overlying plastic molding extending around those portions of the door frame member which normally are nearest the inside of the refrigerator. The plastic molding serves several useful purposes. It acts as a thermal break, hides the access holes, enhances the appearance of the unit and serves as a means for attaching a sealing strip about the periphery of the door. In some prior art doors, the plastic molding covered the frame portion which contained the access holes thus necessitating removal of the molding to expose the access holes.
With the door construction of the prior art it has thus been difficult to tighten the handle or to replace it. First, it was necessary to remove the plastic molding; this was both time consuming and potentially damaging to the molding. Thereafter, a tool was inserted through the access hole to drive the screw holding the handle in place. In the process, it was found that not infrequently the screw would, when disengaged, fall from the tool and become permanently lost within the channel. A number of screws might become lost in the process of replacing a door handle. This necessitated maintaining a supply of such screws in the field. Installing and maintaining the door handle was rendered a time consuming and tedious proposition. Screws lost in the channel could cause a rattling sound when the door was opened and closed, which would necessitate disassembly of the door frame to remove the lost screws.